18th Changchun Film Festival set to kick off

The 18th China Changchun Film Festival (CCFF) is set to open on the evening of Aug 28 under the theme of "New Era, New Cradle, New Power, New Breakthrough".

Ten awards, including for best film, director, actor and actress, and best screenplay, will be presented during the festival.

A total of 15 films have entered the final competition for the Golden Deer, the award for best film, including the science fiction blockbuster The Wandering Earth II, historical comedy thriller Full River Red, fantasy epic Creation of the Gods I: Kingdom of Storms and mystery crime film Lost in the Stars.

The film screenings segment will feature eight Russian films, including The Cranes Are Flying, which won the Palme d'Or at the 1958 Cannes Film Festival, and 12, a Russian-language remake of the 1957 American legal drama film 12 Angry Men, in addition to 25 Chinese films such as the 2018 comedy-drama film Dying to Survive.

Changchun is home to the first film studio of the People's Republic of China, known as the "cradle of New China's film industry".

Dating back to 1992, the CCFF is one of China's four major film festivals. It changed from a biennial event to an annual occasion in 2021.

This year's CCFF will also include seminars, activities saluting "the cradle" of the Chinese film industry, and a range of marketing and promotional events.

The 18th CCFF is hosted by China Media Group and the Jilin provincial government and organized by the Changchun municipal government. It will run until Sept 2.